Colored motion picture camera



Nov. 10,*1936. T. A. KILLMAN ET AL 2,060,505

COLORED MOTION PICTURE CAMERA Original Filed Sept. 16, 1935 PatentedNov. 10, 1936 PATENT OFFICE COLORED MOTION PICTURE CAMERA Thomas A.Killman and Robert T. Killman, Nashville, Tenn.

Original application September 16, 1935, Serial No. 40,774. Divided andthis application February 26, 1936, Serial Claims.

This application is a division of our co-pending application filed Sept.16, 1935, Serial No. 40774.

Our invention relates to process of producing motion pictures in naturalcolors by the use of 5 attachments which may be fitted to the standardmachines now in use.

One of the objects of our invention is the elimination of all colorfringe and color flicker in both moving and stationary objects togetherwith the elimination of all lack of registration due to parallax,difference in motion phase and the like.

Another object of this invention is to evolve a method of producingmotion pictures faithfully in the natural colors of the object, themethod requiring only slight modication of the standard machines andapparatus now in use.

Briefly the method is as follows. The beam of light from the object tobe photographed is divided into two identical beams of the same aspect.This is done by a special combination of prisms and reflectors, andmatched twin lenses. The two beams are passed through two color filters,one beam through each lter. The filters are of substantiallycomplementary colors, and are stationary. The two beams of light passthrough an aperture plate, having an opening which accommodates twostandard picture frames, to a panchromatic lm. Interposed between thefilm and the lenses' is a special rotary shutter which interrupts thebeams, to time the exposures and to cut off the light while the lm isbeing moved. This shutter is so arranged that, at any instant, the sameportions of the two frames are covered or exposed. This is to cause theimage of any moving object to occupy exactly the same relative positionin eachlrame at the beginning and end of each exposure. Dung the timebetween successive exposures the lm is advanced a distance equal to twoframes., Thus there will be produced upon the negative film a successionof pairs of images, thetwo images of each pair being made from the sameaspect, and exposed during exactly the same interval of time, one of theimages being a record in varying tones of gray of all the values of onecolor possessed by the object, and the other image being a similarrecord of all the values of the complementary color possessed by theobject. The negative images are printed onto a positive which isintended to be projected by the mechanism disclosed in our co-pendingapplication filed Sept. A16, 1935, Serial No. 40774.

The mechanism by which these and other objects vare attained isdescribed in the following (Cl.l 8f3-16.4)

' specications and claims together with the accompanying drawing inwhich,

Figure I is a front view of the special shutter used in the camera.

Figure II is a sidesectional view of the same taken along the line 2-2of Figure I.

Figure III is a diagrammatic View of the arrangement of the variouselements in the camera.

` The means employed in our invention for photographing objects onto thefilm is shown diagrammatically in Figure III. A compound prism made upof the right triangular prisms 30 and 3| receives the light from theobject. Prism 3| has its widest face partially silvered or fullysilvered with lines scratched across it, so as to make this surface apartial reflector. This surface is cemented with transparent cement tothe corresponding surface of prism 30. This arrangement causes thereceived beam to be split into two components of substantially equalstrength, one beam passing through the upper lens system 34, through theopening in the shutter, generally designated as 36 (and to be more fullydescribed later), through the green lter 31, through the aperture plate39 to the lilm 40 making an image thereon of the green light from theobject being photographed. The other beam, reflected by the partialreflecting surface of the compound prism strikes the surface reflector33, and passes through the lower lens system 35, the opening in shutter36, the red lilter 38, aperture plate 3S, to the lm 40, registering'thereon in a frame adjacent to the first image, an image of the redlight comimg from the object.

The shutter now cuts off both beams of light and an intermittentmechanism (not shown) advances the film two frames, the shutter opensand the process is repeated.

In order that images of moving objects shall register perfectly on thescreen, it is necessary that all points on one frame be exposed to thelight and cut off from the light at exactly the Same instant that thecorresponding point 0n the other frame is exposed and cut off.

In order to accomplish this result we have provided the camera shuttermechanism best shown in Figures I and II. Projecting outward from theplate 4| which contains the double aperture and the color filters 31 and38, is the stud 42, rotatable on which is the sleeve 43 which carries atits inner end the shutter drive gear 44, and at its outer end theshutter plate 45. For purposes of stability and balance the plate 45 issurrounded `by a ring Illia.A The shutter plate 45 is cut away on theradial lines 46 and 41 and the circular line 48 to form the lighttransmitting opening 49a. Short shafts 49 and 59, rotatably mounted inbearings in the shutter plate carry at their ends nearest the iilm 40,shutter segments 5I and 52 of substantially rectangular shape. The otherends of shafts 49 and 50 carry the small gear wheels 53 and 54.Rotatably mounted on studs 55 and 56 located in the shutter plate 45 andmeshing with gears 53 and 54 are the idler gears 51 and 5l. Rigidlymounted on the stud 42 is the stationary gear 59, meshing withthe idlergears 51 and 58. Gears 53, 54 and 59 are the same size. The parts are soplaced that edge of segment 5I and edge BI of segment 52 project outinto the open part of the shutter bounded by radial lines 46 and 4l,circular lines 4B and ring 49a, and these edges are placed in a verticalposition.

When the shutter rotates, being driven by gear 60 meshing with gear 44,the shutter segments 5I and 52, due to the action of the gears, maintaintheir vertical positions `so that as they pass over the aperture. theycover and uncover simultaneously corresponding points of the two.

images.

Various modiiications of the forms herein disclosed in detail will beapparent to those skilled in the art and it should not be understoodthat we are limited to these illustrative forms, except as indicated inthe following claims.

We claim as our invention:

l. A cinematograph camera for producing color sensation records,comprising a double sized film aperture, an optical light beamdividingand directing system composed of plane non-refracting reflectorsand cooperating matched lenses through which the component beams aretransmitted to a common focal plane to produce a plurality o! imagesfrom the same aspect of view on adjacent picture areas of the film;color filters bearing substantially complementary colors interposed ineach component beam; a shutter comprising a. rotatable sector disksupporting a plurality of separately rotatable shutter segments eachhaving a vertically disposed edge for cutting the light beams, and gearmeans for maintaining the vertical position of said edge during rotationof said sector disk.

2. Means for producing motion pictures in natural colors including in acamera, means for dividing and directing a beam of light from the objectto be photographed, said means comprising a plane partial reflector setat an angle to the beam, a full surface reiiector adapted to receive thereected portion of the beam from the first named reiiector, matched twinlenses adapted to receive and focus the beams from the said dividing anddirecting means; stationary color iilters having substantiallycomplementary colors interposed in the two beams after they emerge fromthe twin lenses; a film aperture plate of a size to accommodate twopicture frames; shutter means for interrupting the light beamssimultaneously, comprising a shutter sector plate, a plurality ofvertical shutter segments adapted for rotation upon said sector plate;gear means causing said segments to maintain their vertical position asthe sector plate rotates, said gear means comprising a gear attached toeach segment, a stationary gear mounted centrally of the sector plate,and idler gears cooperating with the stationary gear and the first namedgears.

3. In a motion picture camera designedyto ex pose simultaneously aplurality of images of an object, shutter means for simultaneouslyexposing to and shielding from the action oi' the light correspondingpoints on the images, said shutter means including a rotatable sectordisk, a plurality o1 separately rotatable shutter segments carried bysaid disk, each segment having a vertically disposed edge for cuttingthe light beams, and gear means for maintaining the vertical position ofsaid edge as the sector disk rotates.

4. In a motion picture camera designed to expose simultaneously aplurality of frames of nlm to a plurality of images of an object,shutter means for simultaneously exposing and shielding correspondingpoints of the images, said shutter means including a rotatable sectordiskl separately rotatable shutter segments carried on said disk andhaving an edge for cutting a light beam, said edge being parallel to aline through corresponding points of the images and gear means formaintaining said parallelism as said edge passes through the light beam.

5. In a motion picture camera, a light interrupting shutter, comprisinga rotatable shutter disk. a plurality of separately rotatable shuttersegments carried upon said disk, each segment having a light beamcutting edge, said edges being al1 parallel each to the other, and alllying in a predetermined direction in relation to the other parts o! thecamera, and means for maintaining said parallelism and said direction asthe sector disk revolves.

THOMAS A. KILLMAN. ROBERT T. KILLMAN.

